NEW: Endangered GOP Incumbents Refuse to Oppose Their Party’s Lawsuit to End Pre-Existing Conditions Coverage Protections

Today, The Hill is reporting that several of the most vulnerable Republican incumbent senators are refusing to oppose their party’s lawsuit that would strike down the Affordable Care Act and eliminate coverage protections for people with pre-existing conditions, kicking an estimated 20 million Americans off their health insurance. Every Senate Republican voted for the 2017 tax bill that “sparked” this harmful lawsuit that is now slated to be heard by the Supreme Court before the 2020 election.

Senators Joni Ernst, Martha McSally, Kelly Loeffler, Thom Tillis, Steve Daines, and Cory Gardner all dodged questions on the lawsuit and refused to oppose it. Polling shows that a “clear majority” of Americans want to preserve the health care law and its pre-existing conditions protections — and that even Republican voters’ desire to repeal the ACA has all but disappeared. But Republicans in Washington continue trying to overturn the law, with President Trump admitting just last night that “we want to terminate Obamacare.” 

While Republicans have yet to offer an alternative that would provide the same level of protection as the ACA, some Republican senators pointed to their support of Senator Tillis’ sham “Protect Act” — which experts have said “wouldn’t protect people” if the GOP lawsuit succeeds, “falls far short of its purported goal” and would “do little to protect people with pre-existing conditions” and fails to “cap patient out-of-pocket costs” or include provisions to “make premiums more affordable.” Unlike the ACA, Tillis’ bill does not “specify what benefits must be provided,” does not “prohibit insurers from charging women more than men,” and would not “ban annual or lifetime limits on benefits,” which are “of most concern to people with serious illnesses.”

Here’s how some of the most vulnerable Republicans refused to oppose their party’s lawsuit this week to take away pre-existing conditions coverage protections:

• Senator Ernst (IA): “I’m not saying whether I support it or not.”
  
• Senator McSally (AZ): “would not weigh in”
  
• Senator Loeffler (GA): “said to contact her office…In a follow-up email, a Loeffler spokeswoman did not directly answer if the senator supports the lawsuit.”
  
• Senator Tillis (NC) and Senator Daines (MT): “did not directly answer”
  
• Senator Gardner (CO): “did not respond to a request for comment”

“Senate Republicans are refusing to oppose a lawsuit they set in motion and have voted for years to take away pre-existing conditions coverage protections — and their attempts to dodge these tough questions reveal they know this record will sink their re-election chances,” said DSCC spokesperson Helen Kalla. “The GOP’s misguided crusade against pre-existing conditions protections and other health care benefits will continue to be an albatross for every Republican candidate as quality, affordable health care remains a defining issue in battleground states across the country.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The Hill: Vulnerable Republicans dodge questions on support for ObamaCare lawsuit

By Peter Sullivan
March 6, 2020

Key Points:

• Vulnerable Senate Republicans are dodging questions about whether they support a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act. 
  
• The Supreme Court said this week it would take up the case, thrusting the issue to the forefront and posing a headache for Republicans in tough races this year.
  
• President Trump supports the lawsuit, which would strike down the entire health law, but ObamaCare’s popularity has risen to a record high, posing a danger for Republicans in seeking to strike it down. 
  
• “I’m not saying whether I support it or not, it’s in the hands of the Supreme Court now so we’ll see,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told The Hill on Thursday. Ernst is up for reelection this year.
  
• The lawsuit threatens coverage for roughly 20 million people and would also take away the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions, which are particularly popular.
  
• Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), who faces a difficult reelection race this fall, said the issue is a “judicial proceeding” so she would not weigh in. 
  
• Sen. Kelly Loeffler (Ga.), who like McSally was appointed to her seat and will face voters this fall, said to contact her office when asked if she supported the lawsuit.
  
• In a follow-up email, a Loeffler spokeswoman did not directly answer if the senator supports the lawsuit.
  
• Republicans don’t have their own alternative plan to ObamaCare, which makes them even more vulnerable to the attacks.
  
• Some vulnerable Senate Republicans are pointing to a bill from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), called the Protect Act, that would reinstate some of the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions if the law is struck down. 
  
• That bill, though, does not address other core parts of the health law that could be struck down, such as its Medicaid expansion or financial assistance to help people afford coverage.
  
• Tillis did not directly answer when asked if he supports the lawsuit, but did point to his legislation. 
  
• The office of Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) did not respond to a request for comment on if he supports the lawsuit….Gardner may be the most endangered Senate Republican facing reelection this year.

Read the full story here.